Staff Pick

Joe Sacco's mesmerizing quest to "adulthood" is a road full of the sort of hysteria, psychedelia, and bull&%#t that can only come from being a rock 'n' roll cartoonist on tour. To imagine Robert Crumb meeting Spinal Tap might give you a slight idea of what you are in store for. Yet Sacco's firsthand experiences of being on the road with retro-rockers The Miracle Workers in Berlin in the 1980s is just the beginning of this compendium. Sacco's vision is all his own: dizzying, satirical, and brutally honest. Recommended by Georgie, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The time has come to follow award-winning cartoon journalist Joe Sacco on one of the most dangerous beats of all, namely the world of rock 'n' roll. The centerpiece of the book is "In the Company of Long Hair," the early '90s graphic novelette Sacco created on the subject of his raucous European tour with the punk band the Miracle Workers. "Long Hair" appears here for the first time in an expanded version with an added 15-page section of his original sketches and notes from the time, and a bound-in CD featuring an excerpt from the Miracle Workers' live shows including a blasting version of the Iggy Pop classic "I Got a Right."

As for the rest of the book: Sacco turns his pitiless pen on all strata of rock 'n' roll, from old rockers (two stories on the Rolling Stones) to new; from salacious gossip to how-to ("Woodstock in Your Own Home"); from portraits of typical rock creatures ("Record Producer," "The Musician Who Wanted to Save the World," "The Rock Journalist") to self-deprecating autobiographical stories. None of these has been collected before, and over 20, done for German magazines and papers while Sacco was living in Berlin, have actually never been published at all in English and are being translated for the first time in this edition! PLUS! A 16-page section of Joe's wild, live rock-show posters from his days in Berlin, including both long-forgotten acts and some pretty famous ones!

Review:

"It's news to most of us that rock and roll cartoonist is a job option, but that's exactly what Sacco did before hitting the (relative) big time with his graphic journalism masterpieces like Safe Area Gorazde. In this ragtag mix tape of Sacco's early work, he turns his impressionistic eye on the grunge, grit, passion and foolhardiness of the music world. The bulk of the book is set in the early '90s when he roadied with punk band the Miracle Workers (a CD of their live shows is included) on their European tour, a low-scale bacchanal of booze, groupies and dangerous hygiene. Later sections detail Sacco's attempt to make a living drawing concert posters in Berlin — interesting enough, but his self-deprecating captions aren't just false modesty — as well as his hilariously serious obsession with the Rolling Stones, the high point of the book. As usual, Sacco draws himself as a bespectacled, nervous goon (shades of R. Crumb's sweaty self-portraiture) surrounded by vibrant, clanging chaos. The effect is modestly entertaining, but the end result is like a B-side and rarities CD — something to pacify fans until the artist in question gets back to his real work. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Sacco has earned cred for documenting political conflicts (see Palestine). However, this collection of early work focuses on his hard-rocking past....It's a little all over the place, but then again so is rock and roll. (Grade: A-)" Entertainment Weekly

Synopsis:

It's "Safe Area Gorazde" meets "This is...Spinal Tap" as cartoon journalist Joe Sacco takes on Rock 'n' Roll. <BR>The Gaza strip? No problem! Deepest Serbia? A cakewalk. Those were easy. But now the time has come to follow award-winning cartoon journalist Joe Sacco on one of the most dangerous beats (and we mean "beats" literally) of all... namely the world of rock 'n' roll. <BR>The centerpiece of the book is "In the Company of Long Hair," the early '90s graphic novelette Sacco created on the subject of his raucous European tour with the punk band the Miracle Workers. Although already published in other Sacco collections, "Long Hair" appears here for the first time in an expanded version with an added 15-page section of his original sketches and notes, and a bound-in CD featuring songs from the Miracle Workers' live shows of the time--including a blasting version of the Iggy Pop classic "I Got a Right." <BR>As for the rest of the book: In a series of hilarious and sharply observed vignettes, Sacco turns his pitiless pen on all strata of Rock 'n' Roll, from old rockers ("The Stones and Me," a diehard fan's lament, and its sequel, "Suffering for the Stones") to new (the abovementioned Miracle Workers); from salacious gossip ("Who's Sleeping With Who") to how-to ("Woodstock in your Own Home"), from portraits of typical rock creatures ("Record Producer," "The Musician Who Wanted to Save the World," "The Rock Journalist") to self-deprecating autobiographical stories ("Why I Let my Hair Grow" and "So You Want to Meet a Rock 'n' Roll Star.") None of these have been collected before, and several, done for German magazines and papers while Sacco was living in Berlin, have actually never beenpublished at all in English and are being translated for this edition! <BR>The book is rounded off with some more recent, serious works such as "The Rude Blues," a full-color strip about Mississippi bluesmen done for "Details" magazine in 1999, and a piece about Lightnin' Hopk

Joe Sacco's mesmerizing quest to "adulthood" is a road full of the sort of hysteria, psychedelia, and bull&%#t that can only come from being a rock 'n' roll cartoonist on tour. To imagine Robert Crumb meeting Spinal Tap might give you a slight idea of what you are in store for. Yet Sacco's firsthand experiences of being on the road with retro-rockers The Miracle Workers in Berlin in the 1980s is just the beginning of this compendium. Sacco's vision is all his own: dizzying, satirical, and brutally honest.

by Georgie

"Publishers Weekly Review"
by Publishers Weekly,
"It's news to most of us that rock and roll cartoonist is a job option, but that's exactly what Sacco did before hitting the (relative) big time with his graphic journalism masterpieces like Safe Area Gorazde. In this ragtag mix tape of Sacco's early work, he turns his impressionistic eye on the grunge, grit, passion and foolhardiness of the music world. The bulk of the book is set in the early '90s when he roadied with punk band the Miracle Workers (a CD of their live shows is included) on their European tour, a low-scale bacchanal of booze, groupies and dangerous hygiene. Later sections detail Sacco's attempt to make a living drawing concert posters in Berlin — interesting enough, but his self-deprecating captions aren't just false modesty — as well as his hilariously serious obsession with the Rolling Stones, the high point of the book. As usual, Sacco draws himself as a bespectacled, nervous goon (shades of R. Crumb's sweaty self-portraiture) surrounded by vibrant, clanging chaos. The effect is modestly entertaining, but the end result is like a B-side and rarities CD — something to pacify fans until the artist in question gets back to his real work. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Review"
by Entertainment Weekly,
"Sacco has earned cred for documenting political conflicts (see Palestine). However, this collection of early work focuses on his hard-rocking past....It's a little all over the place, but then again so is rock and roll. (Grade: A-)"

"Synopsis"
by Libri,
It's "Safe Area Gorazde" meets "This is...Spinal Tap" as cartoon journalist Joe Sacco takes on Rock 'n' Roll. <BR>The Gaza strip? No problem! Deepest Serbia? A cakewalk. Those were easy. But now the time has come to follow award-winning cartoon journalist Joe Sacco on one of the most dangerous beats (and we mean "beats" literally) of all... namely the world of rock 'n' roll. <BR>The centerpiece of the book is "In the Company of Long Hair," the early '90s graphic novelette Sacco created on the subject of his raucous European tour with the punk band the Miracle Workers. Although already published in other Sacco collections, "Long Hair" appears here for the first time in an expanded version with an added 15-page section of his original sketches and notes, and a bound-in CD featuring songs from the Miracle Workers' live shows of the time--including a blasting version of the Iggy Pop classic "I Got a Right." <BR>As for the rest of the book: In a series of hilarious and sharply observed vignettes, Sacco turns his pitiless pen on all strata of Rock 'n' Roll, from old rockers ("The Stones and Me," a diehard fan's lament, and its sequel, "Suffering for the Stones") to new (the abovementioned Miracle Workers); from salacious gossip ("Who's Sleeping With Who") to how-to ("Woodstock in your Own Home"), from portraits of typical rock creatures ("Record Producer," "The Musician Who Wanted to Save the World," "The Rock Journalist") to self-deprecating autobiographical stories ("Why I Let my Hair Grow" and "So You Want to Meet a Rock 'n' Roll Star.") None of these have been collected before, and several, done for German magazines and papers while Sacco was living in Berlin, have actually never beenpublished at all in English and are being translated for this edition! <BR>The book is rounded off with some more recent, serious works such as "The Rude Blues," a full-color strip about Mississippi bluesmen done for "Details" magazine in 1999, and a piece about Lightnin' Hopk

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